5 mistakes people make treating Lordosis

Lordosis is a condition that affects the lower back, exaggerating the curve of the spine and causing the abdomen and buttocks to protrude. It may also cause the knees and toes to point inwards and even cause rounding of the upper back. With lumbar Lordosis you may not see all these symptoms, but they very often happen in combination.

We’ve discussed Exercises for Lumbar Lordosis on the blog a number of times previously, but even when you know which exercises or stretches you should be doing it’s possible that you’re not getting the most out of them.  

In this tutorial I’m covering some of the most common mistakes people make when they’re treating Lordosis:

1. You don’t continue the good work during your daily activities

 If you work out and do the correct stretches for 30-60 mins per day that’s a great start for improving your Lordosis symptoms. The problem is there are 23+ hours during the remainder of the day during which you could potentially be undoing that good work.

Use your time wisely. When you’re sitting at your desk working could you be holding yourself differently and flattening off the curve in your spine? Or what about when you’re walking the dog or standing in that queue in the supermarket? Practise getting into the correct postural positions when you’re going about your everyday activities. It will give your brain and body extra stimulus to naturally feel comfortable in the position you want it to be in.

2. You don’t reposition your pelvis during stretches

Left to their own devices, many people go through the motions when it comes to Lordosis exercises. But to get the most out of them it is vital to understand the position you want the spine and pelvis to be in.

Then when you go into a stretch you can get into the right position and correctly stretch the muscles around the spine. Even better, programming your brain and getting it used to doing this will mean you’re much more effective at repositioning the spine and the pelvis when it comes to everyday activities as well.

3. You don’t prepare your pelvis for exercise

I find a lot of people go straight into any stretch they plan to do and are not then able to reposition their pelvis. If you can learn to get your pelvis in the right position first and then go into the stretch it will be far more effective.

It’s the same with exercises – people tend to concentrate on doing the exercise rather than positioning their pelvis and therefore don’t get as much from the exercise as they could. And there’s another reason to concentrate on positioning the pelvis before you start – it will help your brain to learn how to position your muscles and skeletal system more naturally and easily before any everyday movement. 

4. You don’t actively recruit the right muscles during exercise

I’ve talked before about activating and using the right muscles to make a stretch or exercise more effective. Because you could get into the position of a Plank or Bird Dog but the right muscles won’t necessarily work at the right time. In the plank, for instance, you could relax the muscles of the tummy but that will mean then muscles of spine will pick up the slack. If instead you activate the muscles in your stomach it will reduce the work done by the muscles in the spine helping you to reposition the pelvis and spine more effectively.

If you don’t consciously engage your mind in the exercise and actively recruit those muscles, you’ll find it much harder to flatten your lumbar curve.

5. You don’t breathe well during the exercises and stretches

Breathing correctly during stretches and exercises is more important than many people realise. It allows your mind to consciously engage in the actions you’re taking, and it helps to actively relax the muscles you’re trying to stretch.